Friends of Magnolia Manor Park say they need to raise about $150,000 by December 2012 to remove fences, open the park up to a planned size of more than 4 acres, and work toward completion of the park’s design preferred by the community.
The announcement came during a public meeting at the Magnolia Lutheran Church on Nov. 16 in which about 30 people braved a cold wind and pouring rain to attend. The meeting included a lively discussion regarding the general design of Manor Park and its progress, fundraising and other issues.
As expected, fundraising was a big topic of discussion. According to Site Workship, the project’s landscape architects, the $150,000 price tag is needed to not only remove fences, but to begin the walking path around the reservoir, fund the initial stages of creating a p-patch and to complete the 21,000 square-foot off-leash dog park area (OLA). The OLA is planned to include a “chuck-it” zone and a small-and shy-dog area.
Other aspects of the meeting included discussions of plans to initiate an art fence project in partnership with the fifth-graders at Lawton Elementary School and mural artist Don Rockwell.
Seattle Parks Department has set early March for beginning the OLA’s construction. They will look at the funding amount collected up to that point to determine the construction budget and building constraints for the dog park. The city has set June, 2012, as the time to begin construction for the OLA section of Manor Park.
Ways to help the effort include a holiday gift giving program, contributing by the square foot for the completion of the OLA, hosting a fundraising wine social or coffee hour with the Steering Committee and making a tax-deductible cash or credit-card donation. The Citizens for Off Leash Areas (COLA) will match donations of up to $3,000 if the donations are made out to COLA in the name of the Magnolia Manor Park OLA.
The committee is also looking for in-kind services and those willing to volunteer their time. There are also open spots on the steering, fundraising and grant writing committees.
Those interested in receiving a p-patch can do so with volunteer hours. A group of interested gardeners plan to participate in a winter garden tour of other p-patches to get ideas for the development of about 60 plots at Manor Park. They also hope to host an evening party to raise funds toward the new gardens. All are welcome to take part. Details will be found on the website at www.MagnoliaManorPark.org.
For more information, or if you have interest in donating money, resources or your time to the park, please call Susan Casey, chair, at 282-3583 or Carol Burton, treasurer, at 691-1298 or go to their website at www.MagnoliaManorPark.org or like us at Facebook.com/Friends of Magnolia Manor Park.
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